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Characteristics of the Florida Cognitive Activities Scale in Older African Americans

Vonetta M. Dotson

James A. Haley VA Medical Center

John A. Schinka

James A. Haley VA Medical Center University of South Florida, jschinka{at}health.usf.edu

Lisa M. Brown

University of South Florida

James A. Mortimer

University of South Florida

Amy R. Borenstein

University of South Florida

Substantial research effort has recently focused on the potential protective effect of cognitively demanding activities on cognitive decline in late life. A significant methodological issue in this effort has been the lack of consistency in approaches to the operational measurement of cognitive activity. In this study, data in support of the reliability and construct validity of the recently developed Florida Cognitive Activities Scale (FCAS) in a sample of 223 African American older adults are provided. Consistent with the findings of the Schinka et al. study using a sample of Whites, the FCAS full scale showed a reasonably high level of internal consistency, small negative correlations with age and a measure of depressive symptomatology, and moderate positive correlations with years of education and neuropsychological measures of overall cognitive functioning, memory, and executive functioning. Even after controlling for the effects of age, education, and gender, the full scale score contributed significantly to the prediction of global cognitive functioning. The results of this study suggest that the FCAS is a reliable and valid measure of cognitive activities in older African Americans and provides additional, although not causative, evidence in support of the hypothesis of a protective effect of cognitive activity against cognitive decline regardless of ethnicity or race.

Key Words: cognition • aging • activity level • African American • neuropsychology

Assessment, Vol. 15, No. 1, 72-77 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1073191107307509
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